


Tales of Masha Katsuki-Nikiforova

by Foxtrotbeastbot



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Drabbles, Gen, Kids, cuteness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-16 13:30:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9274037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxtrotbeastbot/pseuds/Foxtrotbeastbot
Summary: A series of drabbles and short tales about the daughter of Victor and Yuuri





	1. First Skate

"I can't Dedushka! I'll fall!"

Yakov held the tiny girl's hand tightly, watching her wobble on her little skates. Masha Katsuki-Nikiforova, the three year old daughter of his best student and his husband, was on the ice for the first time in her life.

"It is alright Sladkiy, you won't fall, I've got you." he said gently, giving her hand a squeeze. "Look, see your Papas there? Don't you want to skate like they do?"

Masha looked out on the ice, seeing her fathers skating together, practicing for the upcoming season. Time and again, she had begged to be allowed to play on the ice like they did, but Daddy Yuuri had always told her she was too little. Then, for her birthday yesterday, she had been gifted with her very own pair of pure white, gleaming skates. She had looked forward to coming to the rink all day, but now, feeling the ice under her feet, she felt her bravery waver.

"I wanna...but I don't wanna fall." she whimpered. Yakov gave her another gentle smile.

"It will be fine. You will not fall. Come now, one foot in front of the other, da?" Masha felt herself tugged along ever so gently and moved her little legs the way she had been taught. Left foot, push and glide, right foot, push and glide. She kept her eyes on her feet and heard Yakov speaking to her again.

"Left, right. Left, Right. Good, you're doing very well Sladkiy!"

Step after step, glide after glide, Masha felt the ice fall away. She took longer glides, left, right, left, right.  
Then she realized that something felt different; her right hand wasn't being held! She looked up and found herself alone in the center of the rink. Yakov was a yard behind her, smiling. She had skated all by herself!

The sound of clapping reached her ears and she turned to see both of her daddies clapping wildly. Masha beamed and gave a wobbly little bow like Papa Victor always did after he danced on the ice before raising her arms.

"Daddy! Papa! Did you see?! I did it! I skated all by myself!" She pushed off, skating steadily towards her parents gleefully. As soon as she reached them, Papa scooped her up into a tight hug.

"My little ice princess, I'm so proud of you! You did amazing!" he grinned, ruffling her dark hair. Daddy smiled and patted her back.

"We knew you could."

Masha smiled widely, giggling as her parents fawned over her. She had been told ever since she could remember that the love of skating was in her blood, but now she understood. The ice was amazing, not scary. And even if she did fall, she'd get right back up and try again.

She was a Katsuki-Nikiforov. It was what they did.


	2. First Competition

Masha found it very hard to sit still, bouncing in her seat and looking all around the rink.

"Sit still Masha." _Babushka_ Lilia admonished. "I can't put your hair up if you fidget. You want to look like a little lady for your first performance, don't you?"

"Yes _Babushka_." Masha mumbled, forcing her body into stillness. She was nervous; Today was her first ever routine. It was just a show of basic skills; strokes, swizzles, pumps and turns, but Papa had encouraged her to try her newest move: the Bunny Hop. She had done it plenty in practice, but she had never skated in front of a crowd before. And she was the last skater going out!

"There's our girl!" Masha heard her Papa's voice, but she looked straight ahead while Lilia fussed with her hair. Then her parents were kneeling in front of her, both smiling.

"Hey baby. How you doing? You nervous?" asked Daddy Yuuri.

"Uh huh." Replied Masha. "I'm worried about the Bunny Hop. What if I fall down? What if I mess up a swizzle? What if-"

"Masha, _Milaya_ , calm down." Papa Victor took her hand. "It's okay to be nervous, but remember all the hard work you did in practice? You can do this. We believe in you."

"Okay Papa." Masha felt gentle hands on her shoulders as Lilia finished tying her black hair into a bun.

"There! Now our little _Sladkiy_ is ready for her big show." 

"Good! Come on honey." Daddy said, he and Papa both offered her their hands as they led her to the door of the rink wall. Over the loudspeaker, she heard the announcer call her name.

"And our next skater in the 5-year old Novice Girls Division: Masha Katsuki-Nikiforova!" Masha took a deep breath and hit the ice, gliding her way toward the center and waving to the applauding crowd.

" _Davai_ , Masha!"

"You can do it!"

Masha looked to the stands and saw her Uncle Pitchit and Uncle Yurio, Pitchit holding up a small sign covered in glitter that read "Masha #1!" While Yurio propped his boots up on another seat in front of him.

Masah gave them both a little wave and took her opening stance as her song began to play.

" _A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you're fast asleep~"_ Her favorite song, from her favorite movie, Cinderella.

Masha smiled as she moved to the song, her lavender skirt swishing with each stroke as she went through her moves. Stroke, stroke, swizzle, turn, stroke, stroke. Then a few pumps to the left and right, another set of swizzles, another turn, heading back to the center. Then, Just a few feet shy of the center ice, she glided on her left leg, kicked out with her right leg, landed with her toe pick and glided on with her left before performing a short spin to bring her to a stop, arms held at her chest like she was cupping a flower.

She had done it! She had done the Bunny Hop! More than that, she had completed her very first Program! The applause from the stands resounded throughout the arena as she waved one last time and skated towards the door. Daddy swept her up in a hug, kissing her cheek.

"I knew you could do it Masha!" he laughed. Papa glomped them both, squeezing tight.

"You were great out there!" he smiled, stroking her hair. "Papa's little champion in the making! Keep it up and you'll be the best skater on the ice!" They all turned to the big screen to check her score; for all the girls in this division, the scores were out of 10.

The red numbers lit up with a bright 9! She had beat the other girls by a whole 2 points! Papa and daddy hugged her tight, messing up her careful bun, but she didn't care. She had won!

An important looking man came over and asked her to skate onto the ice again with two of the other girls. She was going to stand on the highest spot on the podium, just like Papa! The grown ups gave each of them a little wooden plaque with a square of engraved metal on it. Hers was a shiny purple, her favorite color! The second place skater got Blue, while the third got pink. She hugged her plaque to her chest as she stepped down from the podium, racing back to her parents. They were both glowing with pride.

"Come on." Daddy smiled. "Let's grab Pitchit and Yurio and celebrate at home with some Ramen." Masha perked up at the mention of her favorite food. 

"The real stuff? With egg and onions and Pork?" she asked, tugging her Daddy's hand.

"You bet!"

Masha grinned widely as she sat down to put on her skate guards. Her first ever competition had been a success, and she was getting her favorite dinner to boot! As nervous as she had bean not even 5 minutes earlier, Masha was sure of one thing:

She couldn't wait for her next competition.


	3. A country of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Very, very short one this time, I'm so sorry.

Masha always looked forward to the Family trips to her daddy's hometown of Hasetsu. Japan was always so much fun and so colorful, even if they did have a lot of rules that she had to follow and Japanese was hard to speak sometimes. But Daddy always helped her when she missed a word or had trouble understanding, so it was alright.

She liked getting to see Daddy's parents, her Ojiisan and Obaasan. She loved Hiroko's cooking and Toshiro's warm hugs. She liked seeing her Aunt Mari and helping her with chores around the Inn and hearing stories of Japanese folklore. She liked the big hot baths that made her tired legs feel better after skating at Ice Castle all day.

She liked when Axel, Lutz, and Loop taught her how to dress up and look pretty. They didn't mind playing with her even though she was only 5 and they were big girls of 14. She liked Aunt Yuko who braided her hair and smiled all the time. She even liked Uncle Takeshi, even though he sometimes picked on Daddy too much.

She liked sitting in the small room with the Alter and looking at the picture of Daddy when he was little, hugging a poodle to him. Vicchan had passed away a long, long time ago, but sometimes, Masha could swear she could see a little brown dog at the front door; sitting there like he was waiting for someone...

She liked Aunt Minako and her dance studio, and all the pictures she had of Daddy when he took Ballet there. Sometimes Minako came to the Inn and drank a lot of the funny smelling juice Papa called Sah-Kay. Papa and Daddy always tried to usher Masha from the room when Minako drank a lot, but Masha didn't know why. She thought Aunt Minako was funny!

Masha loved Japan, because it was where Papa and Daddy had fallen in love and made each other happy. To her, Japan was the country of love.


	4. Mama

"Okay children, coloring time is almost up!"

Masha lifted her head from her drawing, watching Teacher stroll around the room. Masha set her crayon to her paper again, determined to finish. She had drawn herself skating with her Daddy and Papa, and she was almost done coloring in Papa's pink skating outfit.

"Very Nice, Masha." Teacher said, smiling as she looked over Masha's shoulder. "I'm sure your Mama and Papa will be very happy to see the pretty picture you drew!"

"Masha doesn't have a Mama." Said her tablemate, Alexei. Teacher looked surprised. She was new and didn't know all the students in her kindergarten class yet, or their parents.

"Be quiet Alexei." Masha muttered, coloring in more of Papa's outfit. She didn't like Alexei. he was always mean and acted like he was better than everyone else. 

"It's true! She doesn't have a Mama. Just her two Papa's." Alexei smirked at Masha. Masha just colored, not wanting to look at Alexei or his dummyhead face.

"Now Alexei, be nice." Scolded Teacher. "Masha, I should correct myself; Your Papa's will be very pleased with your lovely picture."

"My Mama can make the best Piroshki. Can yours? Oh right, you don't have one!" Alexei snorted with laughter and Masha looked up angrily. 

"Stop it." she snapped. "I don't like it when you tease me."

"Then go cry to your Mama! Oh right, you don't have one!" 

Masha growled in her throat. She wanted to hit Alexei, but Daddy and Papa had always told her to use her words, not fists.

"I bet you did have a Mama." Sneered Alexei. "But she hated you and never wanted you, so she left you with them." Masha's grip on her crayon tightened too hard, snapping the wax stick as she jumped up.

"Shut Up Alexei!" she barked. The rest of the class looked up at her outburst. Masha could feel her face growing hot and her eyes prickling with tears.

"Orphan! Orphan!" Hollered Alexei. "No one wanted the Little Orphan Masha!"

"Alexei, that is enough!" Teacher snapped, grabbing the boy's arm and tugging him from his seat. "You're going to the time out corner and staying inside for recess young man!" As   
Teacher dragged him to the corner, Masha slipped out of her seat and ran to the cubbyholes. It was a more quiet and secluded part of the classroom. No one would see her cry there.

"Masha?"

The girl looked up at the familiar voice of her Papa. What was he doing here?

"Oh, Mr. Katsuki-Nikiforov!" Teacher stepped forward. "So sorry we haven't been introduced yet-"

"Why is Masha crying?" Papa cut across her, smiling in that fake way he used when he was upset about things. Teacher fiddled with her fingers nervously.

"There was a...well, an altercation. I'm afraid one of the other students was teasing her."

Papa grunted, looking at Alexei in the corner and down at Masha's tear stained face. 

"I think Masha has had enough school today. I'll be taking her home now." He said, still smiling. "Masha honey, get your things."

Masha swiped a hand across her eyes and slipped out from her corner, going to her table to grab her bag and her drawing before returning. Papa took her hand gently and gave her a real smile as he led her out the classroom door.

Their footsteps seemed loud in the empty hallways, Masha's little black shoes clacking twice as fast as her Papa's fancy brown dress shoes. They went out the front doors of the school and through the gates without a word. Since their apartment was so close, Papa and Daddy always walked Misha to school.

"Papa? Why were you at school?" Masha dared to ask. Papa squuezed her hand a little.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." he replied. "You know how I worry about you."

They walked in silence for a little longer before Masha spoke again.

"Alexei called me an orphan."

Papa looked down at her, confused.

"Why would he call you that? You have me and your Daddy, so how could you be an orphan?"

Masha told him everything Alexei had said, feeling the anger rise in her again. Then she wondered about something; why didn't she have a Mama? Almost everyone she knew and a Mama and a Papa, not two Papa's. 

"Papa? Do I have a Mama?" She asked. Papa's mouth fell into a thin frown and he didn't reply. He didn't talk for the rest of the walk home and asked Masha to go play in her room for a little while, until he called her. Masha obeyed, but she really didn't want to play. She wanted to know if she did have a Mama. And if she did, where was she?

It was almost an hour before Papa and Daddy came to her room. They both looked upset and Daddy looked like he'd been crying.

"Baby, I think we need to talk." he said gently. They both sat down on the braided rug Uncle Otabek had made for her.

"Masha, you know that we love you." Papa began. "No matter what anyone says, we love you more than anything."

"And you know we always will." Daddy finished. "Victor said you asked about your mommy today." Masha nodded.

"Do I have one? Where is she? Why doesn't she live with us?" she blurted out. "Did she leave me because I was a bad baby? Why didn't she love me?" She found herself cut off as Yuuri squeezed her in a sudden hug.

"Oh baby, she does love you! She loves you so much!" he said, his voice shaking. Masha hugged back for a moment, but she didn't have the answers she wanted. Finally, Daddy let her go, setting her on his lap.

"Well sweetie, it's like this: you know how Boys and Girls are different? Like Aunt Mila told you?"

"Yeah." Masha replied, wondering where this was all going.

"Well, one of the ways we're different is that ladies have a special place in their bodies." said Papa. "It's just for carrying babies and letting them grow until they're ready to be born. Men don't have that place, so we can't have babies on our own."

"But we wanted to. We wanted to have you so badly!" Daddy agreed, nuzzling Masha gently. "So we asked your Mama to help us and grow you in that special place until you were ready to be our baby."

"Then...who is she?" asked Masha. Daddy and Papa looked at each other and Daddy smiled.

"Do you remember your Aunt Yuko from Japan?"

"Yeah. She runs the ice rink."

"Well, when Papa and I decided we wanted a baby, Yuko said she'd carry you for us. We all went to a special doctor and they took a little bit of me, and a little bit of Victor and made you. They put you into Yuko and nine months later, you were born."

Masha sat still for a while, staring at her knees. Yuko was her Mama? But she already had Axel, Lutz and Loop. Wait, that made sense; Yuko already had her hands full with those three girls and the rink, so of course she had to stay in Japan.

"So...she didn't leave me because she hated me?"

"Of course not!" Papa grinned widely, ruffling her hair. "Yuko loved you so much and she took such good care of you while you were in her belly, you turned out perfect."

"How come I never knew this before?" asked Masha. If she had known she had a mommy, she would have been able to tell Alexei off properly.

"We wanted to wait until you were older." Explained Daddy. "Then you could understand more of it. But all you need to know right now is that your Mama loves you very much, even though she's far away, and Your Papa and I love you even more." They both hugged Masha tight and Masha didn't feel so bad. She did have a Mama, and she WAS wanted. Alexei was wrong and she'd tell him so tomorrow.

For right now though, she was content to just sit with Papa and Daddy.


	5. Babysitting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> another short one. Also, Masha's age is going to fluctuate after this, from her kid years to her teens and back again. However I feel like writing her

Date night. How Masha loved those two wonderful words! It was the night once a week when her Daddy and Papa went out together to make kissy faces at each other and eat dinner at fancy restaurants. 

Date Night meant Masha got a babysitter! And with her large extended family from the Ice rink, she had a lot of options! Usually it was Uncle Yurio and Uncle Otabek, but sometimes _Dedushka_ Yakov came and told her stories of when he was little like her. Babushka Lilia didn't sit for her very much, but when she did, they usually practiced Ballet or had a tea party. Lilia liked to say it was what "Proper ladies" did. Mila was slightly more common of a sitter and Masha liked her best. Mila usually took her to shops to try on pretty clothes, and bookstores and toy stores. The evening was usually capped off with a big bowl of popcorn and a movie way past her bedtime. Uncle Georgi had only babysat for her once before her parents banned him from ever looking after her again. He had tried to make some pasta for dinner and nearly set the kitchen on fire!

Tonight though, Masha got Uncle Yurio by himself. Uncle Otabek was out of town.

"Okay, so you know the drill by now Yurio." Daddy said as Papa helped him into his coat. "There's money on the counter if you want to order out, otherwise there's food in the fridge. Contact numbers for our restaurant are by the phone and we should be home around 11."

"Da, I know already, just go." Yurio sighed. Masha giggled. Yurio's attitude had mellowed a little since hitting 20, but he still pretended to be a bad boy, just to keep up his image.

"And don't let Masha try weasel her way out of bedtime either." Papa smiled, now buttoning Daddy's coat for him. "8 pm sharp."

"Like I'm going to be manipulated by a 5 year old." Scoffed Yurio. "I think I can handle her. Now get lost and get your date over with!"

"Okay okay, Bye kids, have fun!" Papa planted a kiss on Masha's forehead and he and Daddy left. For a few seconds, the apartment was silent until Masha looked up at Uncle Yurio.

"I'm not going to bed at 8 pm sharp, am I?" she asked with a smirk. Yurio smiled back.

"Hell no."

When Victor and Yuuri returned that evening, they found their daughter and Yurio passed out on the couch, surrounded by the remains of a pizza dinner, two bowls of ice cream and a violent action movie playing on the TV. With a small sigh Yuuri plucked Masha from Yurio's chest and tucked her into her own bed while Victor cleaned up and draped a blanket over the lanky blond skater.

 


	6. First Breakup

Masha felt the steady glide of the ice under her skates as she circled the rink for the 8th time. She was just hanging around and enjoying the feel of the smooth frozen surface as the older skaters practiced in earnest.

"Looking good Princess!" Uncle Georgi called as she passed him. Masha smiled and did a little spin to show off for him before continuing on her way. He was here with some of the other skaters; Christophe, Pitchit, Yurio, Otabek, even JJ was here! They had all flown in from different parts of the world to, in Uncle Pitchit's words, "Have fun like old times!" Most of them had retired from the skating world, content to coach or do Ice shows. (Or in Uncle Chris's case, open a pole dancing school.) Uncle Yurio was still in the game though, at almost 30 years old. There were rumors that he might retire after this season and Masha belived it. Though he was still slender and petite, His age had begun to tell. His knees and back hurt after each jump and his stamina was shorter after each difficult program. Thank goodness Uncle Otabek had taken that Massage course years ago!

Just as Masha came down from a triple toe loop, she heard Uncle Pitchit call her.

"Masha! Someone's here to see you!" The girl looked up to find Uncle Pitchit standing next to a young man with light brown hair and a charming smile. Her face lit up as she zipped across the rink to the wall. 

"Dimitri! What a surprise, you never come to see me during practice!" She beamed. Dimitri was her first ever boyfriend. He had asked her out almost 2 months ago, saying he'd been too nervous to approach her before. He was an absolute sweetheart, always acting like a gentleman and bringing her flowers or little presents. (Like the little fox keychain that hung from her bag!) He was even polite when Uncle Yurio had tried to scare him off with claims that he was "Just a punk looking to score with a cute girl."

"Yeah, I was in the area and thought I'd stop in. You got a minute?" Dimitri asked, offering a hand to help her off the ice. Masha took the hand with a blush and a demure smile.

"Mmhmm! I was due for a break anyway. Uncle Yurio, stop hissing!" She frowned at Yurio, who was glaring at Dimitri and mumbling things like "Little punk" under his breath. "Come on, we'll go to the stands." Georgi watched them go with a wistful sigh.

"Ahh, young love."

"I don't like him. He's too shifty!" spat Yurio.

"You think every boy who looks at Masha is shifty." JJ quipped. "Victor and Yuuri seem to be fine with him."

"The Geezer and the Piggy are too wrapped up in eachother to notice an idiot like him! I mean, why else would they let Masha start dating?! She's only 15!"

"You were 15 when we started dating Yuratchka." Grunted Otabek. Yurio flushed and crossed his arms.

"That's different! There's only one reason a 17 year old guy like him is dating a girl like our Masha!"

"Because she's adorable and sweet and the prettiest girl in her class?" Christophe smirked. Yurio slapped a palm to his forehead.

"How is it that Mr. Sex Appeal thinks this is so innocent?" he grumbled. Pitchit stepped in, his hands raised placatingly.

"Now now, I'm sure Dimitri is a great guy. You're worrying too much Yurio. It's not like he's going to do something dumb and break Masha's heart or something."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT TO BREAK UP?!"

The shriek from the stands made every head in the rink turn. Masha was on her feet, glaring at Dimitri.

"I mean we should break up." He was saying. "We hardly ever see each other because of this skating thing you do and you...well..."

"I 'well...' what?"

"You keep pushing me away when I want to kiss you. We've been dating for two months and you won't even-"

"YOU WANT TO BREAK UP BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO MAKE OUT?!" Masha screeched, her face going red and her black hair coming loose from her high ponytail. "You said that didn't matter to you! That you'd wait til I was ready!" 

"That little, I'm going to kill him!" Yurio snapped, moving to leave the rink. Georgi stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. 

"Wait, let them go through this alone. You can't fight all Masha's battles."

Yurio hesitated a moment, looking between his longtime rinkmate and his beloved niece before slumping and crossing his arms. 

"Fine, I'll wait."

Back up in the stands, Dimitri was on his feet as well.

"Two months is more than enough time to be ready for a kiss! Natya Polenskaya was fine with kissing after just a week!" he snapped. Masha went even redder at the mention of her most hated classmate.

"Natya is a spoiled rich girl with low standards! I was raised to respect myself more than to give kisses willy nilly like she does!"

"And that's your problem! You hang around with all these medal winning skaters and a former Prima Ballerina and you think you're something important!"

"I never said-"

"You don't have to say it! It's in your actions! You talk fancy and you always act so prim and proper, like you're special! Well you know what? You're NOT!!"

"What?" Masha gasped, looking like she'd just been slapped across the face. Dimitri smiled, the action drastically different from his usual charming style. Now he just looked petty and vindictive.

"Yeah, I said it. You. are. not. special! I could get dozens of girls just like you and they'd be grateful! You'll be lucky if you get to be some drunk americans last resort! I can't believe I wasted two months on you....I'm done." he scoffed and headed back down the steps of the stands, only to be blocked by a silver haired gentleman.

"Yurio was good enough to call me when he heard the abuse you were heaping on my daughter." Victor said, flashing a smile that didn't even come close to hiding the icy hatred in his eyes. "I think we need to have a little chat on the proper way to speak to a Lady. Yurio, JJ, Otabek, would you like to help me escort this young man to the parking lot for his lesson?" He took a firm hold of Dimitri's shoulder and led the now fear-paralyzed boy out the doors, followed by the three skaters.

Victor hadn't come alone of course. Yuuri had slipped up into the stands and was now hugging a sobbing Masha, trying to comfort her.

"Shh, shh, let it out sweetie. It's okay." he crooned. "None of those awful things he said were true..." Masha just cried harder, clinging to Yuuri's jacket for dear life. 

"Daddy..." she choked out. "He-he said I was... That I-"

"I know sweetheart, but he was wrong. He was just being hateful." Yuuri tugged his baby girl into his lap and rocked back and forth, hugging her tight. Pitchit, Christophe and Georgi settled in around the pair.

"Your daddy's right princess." Georgi said gently. "If that boy can't see what a lovely young lady you are, then it's his loss!"

"Yeah." Pitchit nodded. "You don't have to lower your standards for a sleaze like that."

"If he's not going to respect you, your body or your wishes, then he's not worth your time or tears." Christophe chimed in. "You deserve better than that moron."

Even with all those comforting words, it took a long time for Masha's tears to dry up and her heaving sobs to shrink to small hiccups. In that time, Victor and the others returned with their fists wrapped in handkerchiefs, looking firmly satisfied. Victor rubbed Masha's back gently as her crying spell slowed.

"My Poor Masha." he cooed. "I think a little pick me up is in order. Would you like to go to the Bookstore? Maybe that Chocolate shop you like? Ooh, what about that new Ramen restaraunt that just opened up? They have your faaavorite~" Masha slowly peeked out of Yuuri's arms, sniffling.

"C-Can we just go home?"

"Of course, moya sladkaya malen'kaya printsessa!"

As Masha stood up, she swiped at her puffy red eyes.

"Where'd Dimitri go?" she asked quietly. Victor just smiled and gave a little wave.

"Oh, he's gone home to rethink the way he speaks to young ladies. I expect you'll be getting an apology from him in a day or two."

Masha did indeed get that apology. Two days Later, Dimitri showed up on her doorstep to apologize for his rude behavior and unkind words, all while sending terrified, darting glances to Victor and Yurio who were slowly peeling and slicing carrots, cucumbers, and zucchinis....with their skates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what Victor Calls Masha at the end means "My sweet Little Princess"


	7. First Loss

Masha smiled as she tied her skates, the roar of the crowd becoming a faint hum through her noise canceling headphones (a gift from Uncle Yurio for her 8th birthday.) Laces tied, she looked up at the current skater; a young lady from a tiny village outside Moscow, dressed in a drab, badly made leotard and skirt, but she was skating with all her heart. Good. That's how it should be on the ice. A light tap on her shoulder made her look up to see Papa at her side. Pulling down her headphones, she smiled at him.

"Are you ready sweetheart?" he asked. "You're up next." Masha nodded.

"I know. Did Uncle Yurio and Uncle Otabek make it?"

"They're with your Daddy in the stands. You know they wouldn't miss this. Oh, here she comes!" Masha and Victor both turned to see the current girl heading towards the barrier, eyes cast down and looking like she'd been just told her kitten had died. Masha smiled brightly at her.

"Hey!" She called. "You did really great out there! I bet you'll get a new Personal best!" The skater looked up for a second, then cast her eyes down to her skates as Masha opened the door for her. 

"A personal best doesn't win trophies and medals." she mumbled. 

"Winning isn't everything!" said Masha. "Compete against yourself and No one else. That's what my Papa tells me!" The girls eyes flicked up and widened in shock.

"Y-you're Victor Nikiforov! That's your father?!" she squeaked. 

"Uh huh! I'm Masha!" Masha held her hand out for the girl to shake. Still awestruck, the girl's handshake was weak even as she started to smile.

"NADIA!!!" a voice boomed from behind them, making Nadia flinch and whip her hand away. A massive bear of a man was stomping over. "What are you doing, smiling like that?! That performance was pathetic! How do you expect to win anything like this? Come! Perhaps the judges will be blind enough to give you a passing score." Nadia hung her head and followed meekly.

"Yes Coach Ivan...." she muttered. Masha could see tears glittering in her eyes.

Masha frowned as she watched them go. Coaches like that were the reason so many talented skaters either quit the sport or pushed themselves into career ruining injuries.

"Hmph. I'll have to have a word with the officials about that man." Growled Victor. "She was one of the best skaters on the ice today. Such abuse is completely undeserved. Anyway, your turn Princess. Davai!"

Masha glided out onto the ice to tumultuous applause. Despite only being in the 9 year old division, she was already gaining a small following. Mostly due to her parentage.  
As she took her opening stance, Masha could hear someone shouting angrily and she caught sight of Nadia's coach, still yelling at her. Anger burned in the pit of Masha's gut as she began to skate. How stupid was that man? Had he not seen how graceful Nadia had been? How much emotion she had put into her routine? Her first jump came; a double toe loop-

"Can't you do anything right?!"

The crowd groaned as Masha Kastuki-Nikiforova flubbed a jump for the first time in her Competing career, falling hard on the ice and scrambling to get up again. Masha shook her head, trying to shrug it off. Every Skater fell once or twice. Nothing to worry about.  
But it only got worse from there; Her steps fell out of sequence, she missed cues, her mind fell into a frantic panic as her routine fell apart at the seams. She was failing! She had utterly butchered the routine her fathers had so carefully helped her to create! She couldn't fail! She was the daughter of two record setters! She had to be better than this! As she entered the final component of her routine, Masha felt her heart start to pound and her eyes fill with tears. Quick mental math told her the base score of her performance; with all the deductions from flubbed jumps and messy choreography, she was looking at last place. She couldn't even hit the podium.

As soon as her program ended, she was met with silence. The crowd was too stunned to even applaud politely. Then came a single cheer, shrill and loud over the silence.

"Yay Masha! That was amazing! Whoo-hoo!!!" Nadia was leaned over the barrier, one fist raised in triumph. The scream shocked the audience into action, loud cheers echoing through the arena. 

"That's my girl!" Yurio roared.

"Well Done!" Otabek called.

"You did great honey!" Daddy....

 Masha's vision blurred and her chest tightened, choking her breath. A single tear fell before she could stop it, but she furiously wiped it away and plastered a brave smile on her face before heading off the ice. Papa was there, wrapping her in a tight hug even as her smile fell and she sniffled.

"I'm so sorry Papa...I got distracted and-"

"Hush, hush baby, it's okay."

"But I failed. And now everyone is going to laugh at me and they'll think I let you down and I'll disgrace our whole family!" Firm hands took hold of her shoulders.

"Masha Yukina Katsuki-Nikiforova, look at me." Papa ordered sternly. Masha forced herself to look up at him as his expression turned serious. "You did not disgrace us and you did not let us down. Every skater has to lose now and then, it's natural. Your daddy and I love you and are very proud of you, no matter what. Understand?"

"Yes Papa..." sniffed Masha, rubbing her eyes with a fist.

"Remember, this isn't a failure, just a lesson. Compete against yourself and no one else. Come along now, let's get your scores."

As it turned out, Masha's math had been off a bit; she had landed fifth place rather than sixth, with Nadia taking first. Not surprising really, considering how much heart she had put into her program. Masha could see great potential in her if she could get away from that overbearing coach.

"Masha!"

Speak of the devil...

Nadia was racing over, changed out of her skates and into some threadbare sneakers. 

"I wanted to thank you for encouraging me after my skate. My family isn't very well off, so it's hard for me to keep skating. I always feel so inadequate compared to everyone else and it really drags me down. But I'm going to remember what you said and keep trying to beat my personal best. And maybe someday, we'll meet again on the ice and we can be rivals. But friends too!" Masha smiled.

"Yeah. I think I'd like that. Good luck Nadia." she said, clasping the winners hand warmly. Nadia beamed brightly, looking like sunshine in her pale yellow outfit and her blond hair.

"Oh and um..." she stammered, looking shy. "If it's not too much trouble....do you think your Papas would sign something for me?"

"We'd Love to!"

Yuuri had come by while the girls were talking, discussing something with Victor in low tones until hearing the request. A signed notebook and a group selfie later, Masha and her parents headed out of the rink to head home.

A week Later, Victor's Skate class accepted a new student: Nadia. As they circled the rink together during practice, Masha felt that this was going to be the start of something fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Folks! Just a heads up that due to some real life junk, my imagination is running thin.  
> So I'm opening up PROMPTS! Comment what you'd like to see with our little family! Got a skater you want to see Interact with Masha? Want to see her reaction to a certain something? go for it!


	8. sweet dreams

3 AM. One of the deepest parts of the average night. A time when most people are fast asleep and dreaming, drooling into their pillows or cuddled up with a lover, pet or stuffed animal. A Time when all is quiet and as rest...

Unless you're the parents of a colicky baby.

As shrill gasping screams came from the adjacent room, Yuuri Katsuki Nikiforov groaned and threw an arm over his eyes. 

"Maashaaaa..." he whined. "Daddy needs sleeep." The baby took no heed, simply bawling harder. With a sigh, Victor sat up.

"I'll get her this time Yuuri. Try to get some rest." He muttered, shuffling out of bed and into a robe and warm slippers before heading out to the spare room that had been set up as an impromptu nursery. 

"Okay Masha, Okay. Papa's here." crooned Victor, leaning over to look at his little girl in her crib. A small lamp cast a dim light on the room, from the bassinet to the rocking chair in one corner, to the piles and piles of still yet to be opened gifts from fans and friends. Remembering what Hiroko had told him about newborns having weak eyesight, Victor leaned closer, almost sighing in relief as his daughter recognized him and her loud cries slowed to much quieter sobs.

"There we go baby, see? Papa's here. What's wrong, you hungry? Wet? Let Daddy see now." Gentle, but still slightly new hands plucked the little one from her bassinet and cradled her close. Nope, diaper was still dry.

"Are you hungry my little Piglet?" asked Victor. "You had a full bottle only an hour ago. Is it your tummy again? Is that it? Does my sweet little princess have an owwie tum-tum? Does she?" Masha just whined, waving her tiny fists and kicking her even tinier feet.  Victor plucked one of the soft baby blankets from the cradle and swaddled Masha quickly, taking a seat in the rocking chair before she could start crying again. 

"Poor Masha. Forced out of your safe warm home too fast, into a big, cold, scary world, and on top of all that your tummy hurts? My poor Princess Piglet." he said softly, starting to slowly rock in the chair and marveling at the tiny being in his arms, remembering back to last week when she'd been born. Yuuko had gone into labor a month and a half early, and Little Masha had left almost no time to get to the hospital. After only an hour and a half of labor, only ten minutes of which being spent in the actual delivery room, she had come into the world screaming, red faced and flailing. The doctors had marveled at how well developed she was for a Preemie; all ten fingers and toes, and the lungs of a howler monkey. However they had insisted on keeping her in an incubator for a few days until they were 100% sure she was okay. Yuuri and Victor had stayed as close as possible, taking it in turns to watch over her and reach into the portals of the Incubator to hold her tiny hands. Yuuko had held her only once, declaring her the second most beautiful baby in the world (only because Axel Lutz and Loop were identical and thus equally beautiful)  before giving her back to Victor and Yuuri.

Masha had been welcomed home to Yu-topia with cheers and a large but quiet party. Yuri and Otabek had flown in, as well as Chris and Pichit and the rest of Team Russia. Lilia had taken one look at the baby before declaring that she expected Masha to attend her Ballet lessons as soon as she was walking. Despite her harsh tone, Victor had seen a softness in the old ballerina's eyes. Pichit had fawned over the infant, begging to hold her. Instagram had had a field day with the pictures he'd posted with hashtags like #Futuremedallist, #lookitmybuddiesbaby! and possibly the most hilarious, #touchmynieceIbreakyourface.

Otabek had remained his usual stoic self when his turn to hold Masha had come around, but he had been one of the few to make her giggle throughout the party. Yurio had at first refused to hold her.

"I'm not holding your little piglet!" 

"That's not a nice way to talk about your little sister Yurio." Victor had teased. Yurio had opened his mouth to snap out a reply, pointing a finger at Victor, but suddenly cut himself off when a puny hand curled around it. Masha had looked at the teen with such utter love and trust. And Yurio had switched gears almost instantly, growling at anyone who got too close or didn't hold her properly. 

Honestly, as if anyone with half a brain stem couldn't how much he loved that baby...

Finally coming out of his memories, Victor looked down at Masha to find her asleep again. Knowing he had to get up in less than 3 hours, Victor stood slowly and laid her in her bassinet again, kissing her sweet little forehead.

"Good night Princess. I'm so glad to have you here..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still looking for prompts darlin's!


	9. Shopping Spree!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's for LynNen, who gave me the prompt!
> 
> "Yurio taking being a good older brother/uncle figure and taking her out to buy her nice things and them just generally having fun together"

Tick...Tock...Tick...Tock...

"Come on, move faster." Thought Masha as she watched the classroom clock slowly inch closer to 1 pm. Her purple sneakers kicked idly while one hand doodles on a bit of scrap paper. Thankfully, she wasn't the only one in class not paying attention. Her whole 2nd grade class was restless, just waiting for the end of the day so they could all go home. Why did it take so long for school to end?

A sudden bang at the class door startled the class out of their stupor, two dozen heads whipping around to see a lithe blond man at the door. Masha's heart leapt. Yurio had come to pick her up! Mr. Egorichev, Masha's teacher, frowned.

"Sir! Who are you to barge into my class and disrupt my pupils?"

"I'm here for Masha Katsuki-Nikiforova." Yurio drawled, as though utterly bored with the puffed up little man. "Masha! Get your stuff."

"Now see here!" blustered the teacher. "I don't know who you are, but I cannot let you simply walk in and snatch one of my students!" Masha's hand shot into the air.

"Mr. Egorichev, This is Yuri Plisetsky. He's a friend of my Papa and a Fellow skater." she explained. A low gasp rippled through the class. It was well known that Masha was the daughter of Russia's Legend, but the fact that she knew THE Yuri Plisetsky, 3 time gold winner and Olympian was an incredible tidbit of news. Mr. Egorichev paled and gave a shaky nod.

"Erm, very well then. Masha, you may gather your things. Don't forget your homework."

"Yes sir. Bye-bye!" Masha swung her bag over her shoulder, trotting to Yurio's side and taking his hand. Yurio gave a little wave to the class, all of whom were now chattering like a flock of excited robins, and the pair left.

"You came early Uncle Yurio." Masha said as they walked through the halls.

"Of course. I remember how dull school can be, I wasn't going to let you suffer through that if I could avoid it. Besides, what were you really going to learn in 10 minutes anyway?"

"Probably just another boring general in History."

"See? Dull. Now come on, the Old Man and Katsudon are stuck in practice till 8, so I'm taking you out for some fun."

Masha grinned. When Yurio mentioned something fun, it usually meant a trip to the mall for a shopping spree and another stuffed animal being added to her collection. Once they reached his car, Yurio pulled out his phone.

"Hey kid, smile!" he pulled her close for a selfie. The pic was uploaded to Instagram while Masha buckled herself into the back seat. 

" _Just stole this kid. Gonna spoil her_." the caption read. _"#shopping spree #Niece #MashaKN #stoleyerkidpiggy."_

"Alright piglet, where do you want to go first?" he asked, setting himself behind the wheel.

"Can we just walk around the mall and see stuff for a bit?" asked Masha. "We can see what catches our eye."

"You got it."

Radio blaring, the car pulled off as the Russian Fairy and the Princess headed for a retail adventure. They pulled into one of the biggest malls in St. Petersburg, Yurio holding Masha's hand tightly so she wouldn't get lost in the crowds. For a while they simply walked, looking at the various stores until Masha saw something in a window display.

"Uncle Yuri, look! A Bunny!" She tugged her uncle to the window of a toy store, a life like looking stuffed rabbit sitting next to a Russian copy of Watership Down. The rabbit was a sleek brown, plastic eyes glittering in the lights. He looked as though he could start hopping around any minute. Masha loved rabbits, though foxes were her second favorite. Kind of paradoxical really, but Yurio didn't care. So long as Masha was happy.

"Can we go in? Please Yuri?" she begged. Yurio smiled and nodded.

"Sure. Let's see if they have anyone else like him in there."

The rabbit turned out to be a sale item that came with a copy of the book, the rabbit supposedly being Fiver, a main character in the novel. The clerk at the checkout tried to warn them the book might be a little too intense for a 7 year old, but one look at Masha's happy little face stopped her in her tracks. 

After that, the pair went all over the mall, from game stores to book stores to boutiques. Yuri found several comics he liked, while Masha found a book series from England about talking mice battling Rats and Weasels and other assorted villains. Yuri bought her all the books that were available and ordered in the rest, promising to read them to her whenever he babysat for her.

Instagram was treated to pic after pic of the pair through their spree; Yurio and Masha posing in matching leopard print jackets, Masha beating Yuri at an arcade game, Both of them devouring subs in the food court, and a sneakily taken picture of Yurio cooing at a little black kitten in a pet store. 

However, all good things had to end. It was getting late and Masha still had homework to do, so Yurio gathered up all the bags and they finally headed back out to the parking lot. In the back seat, the girl fell asleep almost immediately, snuggling the stuffed rabbit  to her chest all the way back to Victor and Yuuri's apartment. After all of the new purchases were put in Masha's room, they settled down to study. As it turned out, Yurio wasn't great at History, but his writing and spelling were top notch. 

7:30 came all too soon for Masha's taste, but she was tired from a long school day and the fun afternoon with her favorite uncle, so she didn't put up much of a fuss while she got ready for bed, slipping into her long nightgown and letting Yurio tuck her in.

"Night piglet." he smirked, kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be in the living room if you need me, alright?

"Kay. Night Uncle Yuri. Thanks for taking me shopping."

"No problem." As he flicked off the light and turned to leave, Masha called him back.

"Uncle? Can you check the closet for Baba Yaga?"

Yurio smiled gently, flicking the light back on and opening the closet door. 

"No Baba in here." he said. He knelt to check under the bed. "Nothing under there either. But don't worry, even if Baba Yaga did come, I'd beat her up. No one scares my Princess and gets away with it."

Masha just smiled and snuggled down deeper under her covers.

"Night Uncle."

"Night munchkin. Sweet dreams."


End file.
